How do you "learn" photography

So I am preparing to teach this basic class about photography and I wondered.  How do you "learn" how to take pictures.  I mean, what is photography really about at a base level?
This is is what it is for me personally:
Proper exposure is 50%
Composing is 20%
Depth of field and lens effects are 15%
Photoshop is 15%

I don't even know if that explains what I am asking though. 

I'll add one to Bob's list.  4 - You have to press the shutter.  Most people I know that don't take photographs for more than a quick record of the event take one shot and are done.  Especially now that everything's digital there's no reason not to take several shots of a single subject. 

Crap! I was with you till that one!

 

...Sorry Susie


I think that Composition is worth more than you have it listed here.
But that could be because everytime I hand over my camera to someone at my kids birthday party, Im apauled at the lack of basic composition.

Exposure, yah, I would talk about that, but just to make a point of it. I think for the most part the camera is going to be on auto in your students hands.

Good Luck!

Corey

I thought long and hard about composition and the reason my list was made the way it was is from my own faults/talents.
Exposure took me the longest to learn and composition (although I am not perfect) came easier to me.  Composition is like grammar to me, for the most part I can hear if something sounds right but I know the rules that vary from that.
The other thing is that a perfectly composed image is worthless if it's too dark or two bright but a perfectly exposed image can be valuable even with composition flaws if they aren't horrible.

Ok, this is what I did last night.  I set my camera on Auto and took my four year old daughter outside for some example shots.  This is what I took to compare what I am teaching:

To compare lighting:
One shot with her in full sun
One shot with her in open shade

To compare backgrounds and how auto exposure works:
One with her against a bright background (she turned out dark)
One with her against a medium/darker background (she is exposed properly)

To teach composition/posing:
One shooting down on her
One on her level
One shot with her tiny in the frame
One shot zoomed in with her filling the frame

I also took the best shot and post processed it just to show that shooting in open shade is likely to make your subject bluish and that they can use their photo editing software to warm it up.

I am focusing on shooting outdoors.  I honestly am not sure I would have much valuable knowledge about shooting indoors with a point and shoot with a pop up flash.  I have a swivel head flash that I bounce off everything from ceilings to reflectors to men's white shirts.  I use two flashes sometimes, and also things like dragging my shutter and high ISO.  All things I don't think a point and shoot does.

yeah, give me an audience and I am in heaven

Yeah, those are the things I was going to to focus on in general terms.
I tried to think back at all the snapshots I have seen people take and what little things they can change to make them better.
I don't think this audience wants a comprehensive photography lesson.  I thing it's a "baby steps" thing where they want to know what they can do or change right now to get better results immediately.  I want them to be able to go home feeling like they learned something.

I know Ed F. teaches photography and he mentioned once awhile ago how in his classes he would first tell them that after they learned some things they would be more dissappointed with their photography because they would see the difference.  I don't want that to happen, only because I have one class with them.  I can't really build on things as they learn them.  I have one chance to give them a bunch of tips that hopefully they remember.  Heck, I am still trying to remember everything before I click the shutter.

LOL, yeah I still do that.  Sometimes it's because I don't want to pry my camera away from my face to look back to see if I can safely step back...  At least I think I do that a bit.  I do try and wear comfortable clothes on a shoot so I can move freely - for example - no short or tight skirts for wedddings.  I try and wear black, in case I need to get on the ground, and long so I can bend and move and loose so I can move quickly or take wide steps and not worry about being lady like.  NOW - go shopping and try and find an attractive skirt that fits that description - doesn't really exist.  I try not to worry how I look, as I am not the one being photographed.

Ed, that was a great idea about printing.  I actually made a list of labs for them that will do work for consumers.  I am going to explain that they do cost a little more but that they will do color correcting for them and use higher quality papers and printers.

I am going to spend more time on composition than I originally thought too.